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Post by questionable on Sept 20, 2021 9:23:45 GMT
I’ve always been with British Gas, duel fuel gas/electric obviously but having moved late last year there’s no mains gas in the area so remained with BG for our electric as we’ve always found them to be good to deal with.
We had a slight problem last Xmas with our old boiler so anticipated our electric usage would be higher, hence our monthly payments would be higher, however once a new heating system was installed the bills were getting higher and over a three month period BG billed us £1000, yes £1000.
Obviously I contacted them and talk about appalling customer service you couldn’t make it up.
I was told straight up that you’re using it so you pay for it and did I want transferring to their tariff department so I could see if I could save money that way, I couldn’t get it through to the overseas person that I’m not using that amount and that to monitor my usage they’d installed a smart meter and that it was indicating what I was saying was right usage wise, after thirty minutes or so trying to make him understand what I was on about I asked to put in a complaint but they flatly refused as I had nothing to complain about according to BG, so I asked to put in a complaint against them due to their shitty attitude.
When I was contacted by his overseas supervisor I was told that perhaps the smart meter was faulty and had to jump through hoops doing this that and the other for them, turned out that when they’d installed the smart meter they’d cocked up and in fact I was £150 in credit rather than a debit of £1000.
It’s an absolute scandal what the government allow these energy suppliers to get away with, I’m pretty clued up on these things relating to OFGEN and threatened to report them, BG gave me £50 compensation as I couldn’t be arsed to escalate my complaint but there must be literally hundreds of thousands of people paying way to much for their energy, tens of thousands who literally can’t afford and live constantly in debt to basically survive in the winter months.
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Post by mrcoke on Sept 20, 2021 9:59:43 GMT
I have moved a lot in the last 20 years. Most houses I bought had existing contracts with British Gas. On every occasion I changed supplier because whilst BG are cheap for electricity as a major buyer from the power companies, they are expensive for gas. Plus their boiler maintenance plans are a rip off.
I have always shopped around and gone with one of the major suppliers like EON, Enron, Scottish Power, etc. and avoid the very cheap mini suppliers, who I just don't trust and are the one's now going bust because they gamble on future energy prices. I have also avoided people like Sainsburys etc. who have purchased a bulk amount of energy cheaply to sell on to customers they can capture outside supermarkets.
I've just renewed with EON who sent me an email saying I was due to renew next month. In view of the news about escalating prices I immediately renewed at the cost of an extra £10 per month on the DD till October 22. Hope I did the right thing.
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Post by Rednwhitenblue on Sept 20, 2021 10:03:16 GMT
I have moved a lot in the last 20 years. Most houses I bought had existing contracts with British Gas. On every occasion I changed supplier because whilst BG are cheap for electricity as a major buyer from the power companies, they are expensive for gas. Plus their boiler maintenance plans are a rip off. I have always shopped around and gone with one of the major suppliers like EON, Enron, Scottish Power, etc. and avoid the very cheap mini suppliers, who I just don't trust and are the one's now going bust because they gamble on future energy prices. I have also avoided people like Sainsburys etc. who have purchased a bulk amount of energy cheaply to sell on to customers they can capture outside supermarkets. I've just renewed with EON who sent me an email saying I was due to renew next month. In view of the news about escalating prices I immediately renewed at the cost of an extra £10 per month on the DD till October 22. Hope I did the right thing. Pretty much the same approach. Always shop around on lots of things including insurance and switch regularly. The comparison websites are helpful in this regard. The BG boiler/heating maintenance plans are indeed a rip off, but you can shop around here too. I switched to YourRepair, same plan (more or less), literally half the annual charge. Used them for routine servicing and problem resolution since and no issues with them so far. Think BG will have to think again about their charges now that there is more competition in this market. (Just as an aside about BG Home Repair, a few years back when it came to renewal time, I found that I had been upgraded to a higher level of protection. Basically, reading between the lines of what BG eventually said, one of their employees had taken it upon himself to do that, presumably to earn himself a little bonus or meet targets. I should've seen the increased DD payments but hadn't spotted the rise against previous payments. To be fair to BG, they did refund me the entire difference for the six months or so I'd been paying extra and said that the particular employee "no longer worked for BG", so be aware that this stuff happens).
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Post by questionable on Sept 20, 2021 10:11:49 GMT
We paid a little extra for a Worcester/Bosch boiler, according to the reviews for the model we selected it’s very good, energy efficient and as long as we have a £50 service each year it’s insured for 7 years for parts and labour.
Feel sorry for ppl moving into a new build as sure you can’t install gas boilers now and have to be electric type boilers.
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Post by Seymour Beaver on Sept 20, 2021 10:30:24 GMT
Always shop around every time contract is due for renewal - like poster above avoid mini suppliers even if cheapest - and always research customer service reviews as a couple of quid a month is neither here nor there if your supplier goes bust or won't answer the phone.
Currently with Octopus - my smart meter went wrong last year and although they hadn't installed it they replaced it FOC and when it came to calculating an estimated bill it was actually on the low side compared to my estimate.
Renewed fixed 2 years back in July - but I can leave before 2 years with zero penalty if market rate drops (in fact Idon't have to give a reason).
On the face of it seems I've got the best of both worlds - just waiting for someone to highlight some paragraph 37 (b) (iii) on page 187 of the contract which reveals the catch!!
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Post by prestwichpotter on Sept 20, 2021 10:32:59 GMT
Tip for the day, don't switch from your current supplier to Bulb.....
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Post by questionable on Sept 20, 2021 10:36:27 GMT
Tip for the day, don't switch from your current supplier to Bulb..... I was moaning to my neighbour a few days ago about BG and she said she was with them and if I joined we’d both get a £20 gift card, sure she said it was Bulb I think.
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Post by Seymour Beaver on Sept 20, 2021 10:48:58 GMT
Tip for the day, don't switch from your current supplier to Bulb..... Which given they're sixth largest doesn't bode well for the wider marketplace.....
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Post by prestwichpotter on Sept 20, 2021 10:51:04 GMT
Tip for the day, don't switch from your current supplier to Bulb..... Which given they're sixth largest doesn't bode well for the wider marketplace..... Nope, there is one solution of course......
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Post by Seymour Beaver on Sept 20, 2021 11:05:24 GMT
Which given they're sixth largest doesn't bode well for the wider marketplace..... Nope, there is one solution of course...... Wash your mouth out!!!
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Post by bigjohnritchie on Sept 20, 2021 11:12:43 GMT
Which given they're sixth largest doesn't bode well for the wider marketplace..... Nope, there is one solution of course...... We might be agreeing on something here Prestwich.....in my opinion the utilities ( and possibly internet provision) should be in public ownership.....I get the argument about competition/ efficiency/ power of unions...but it does not/ would not need to be like that if the right model is used. The ' competition' between current providers is ridiculous, when they are basically selling the same thing. Just , and only to, keep you happy.....the so called" Left" ought to be making a lot out of this Labour perhaps instead of looking internally at Conference attendance/ fear to attend/ LGBT+ etc issues, few outside the party are least bit interested.
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Post by prestwichpotter on Sept 20, 2021 11:38:22 GMT
Nope, there is one solution of course...... We might be agreeing on something here Prestwich.....in my opinion the utilities ( and possibly internet provision) should be in public ownership.....I get the argument about competition/ efficiency/ power of unions...but it does not/ would not need to be like that if the right model is used. The ' competition' between current providers is ridiculous, when they are basically selling the same thing. Just , and only to, keep you happy.....the so called" Left" ought to be making a lot out of this Labour perhaps instead of looking internally at Conference attendance/ fear to attend/ LGBT+ etc issues, few outside the party are least bit interested. There's a lot the Labour Party SHOULD be doing John on that we're in full agreement. I do think we need to be careful in trivialising LGBT issues though (not saying you are by the way) especially the current trans debate, there are estimated to be around 650,000 people in the UK that identify as trans or non-binary (1% of the population) and they are some of the most endangered in terms of being the victims of hate crime.......
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Post by Seymour Beaver on Sept 20, 2021 11:47:32 GMT
Nope, there is one solution of course...... We might be agreeing on something here Prestwich.....in my opinion the utilities ( and possibly internet provision) should be in public ownership.....I get the argument about competition/ efficiency/ power of unions...but it does not/ would not need to be like that if the right model is used. The ' competition' between current providers is ridiculous, when they are basically selling the same thing. Just , and only to, keep you happy.....the so called" Left" ought to be making a lot out of this Labour perhaps instead of looking internally at Conference attendance/ fear to attend/ LGBT+ etc issues, few outside the party are least bit interested. Presumably you were right behind Corbyn then John when he was proposing it ahead of the 2019 election?😉
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Post by mrcoke on Sept 20, 2021 11:59:22 GMT
Tip for the day, don't switch from your current supplier to Bulb..... Thanks. I also used to be with Scottish Power once. I had no problems but they got a terrible reputation with customer complaints so I went elsewhere when I renewed. I have a "little man" in the town who now does the maintenance for the boiler, energy recovery system and gas appliances. He's not cheap but he only lives a few streets away and knows I'll be knocking on his door if there is a problem. I didn't realise how expensive BG maintenance was till they failed to turn up for a service, and requested to rearrange, I said no thanks and went elsewhere. A ot of firms attract you in the first year with a low fee then bump it up the next year.
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Post by prestwichpotter on Sept 20, 2021 12:04:49 GMT
Tip for the day, don't switch from your current supplier to Bulb..... Thanks. I also used to be with Scottish Power once. I had no problems but they got a terrible reputation with customer complaints so I went elsewhere when I renewed. I have a "little man" in the town who now does the maintenance for the boiler, energy recovery system and gas appliances. He's not cheap but he only lives a few streets away and knows I'll be knocking on his door if there is a problem. I didn't realise how expensive BG maintenance was till they failed to turn up for a service, and requested to rearrange, I said no thanks and went elsewhere. A ot of firms attract you in the first year with a low fee then bump it up the next year. We moved from one of the big companies who serviced and maintained our boiler as well as electric/plumbing cover etc and the service was horrendous, found a local company that offered the same service and they've been excellent. I know who I'd rather give my business to every day of the week.....
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Post by bigjohnritchie on Sept 20, 2021 13:09:00 GMT
We might be agreeing on something here Prestwich.....in my opinion the utilities ( and possibly internet provision) should be in public ownership.....I get the argument about competition/ efficiency/ power of unions...but it does not/ would not need to be like that if the right model is used. The ' competition' between current providers is ridiculous, when they are basically selling the same thing. Just , and only to, keep you happy.....the so called" Left" ought to be making a lot out of this Labour perhaps instead of looking internally at Conference attendance/ fear to attend/ LGBT+ etc issues, few outside the party are least bit interested. There's a lot the Labour Party SHOULD be doing John on that we're in full agreement. I do think we need to be careful in trivialising LGBT issues though (not saying you are by the way) especially the current trans debate, there are estimated to be around 650,000 people in the UK that identify as trans or non-binary (1% of the population) and they are some of the most endangered in terms of being the victims of hate crime....... Yes ,I am currently working with three students, one to one, who are coming to terms with their gender/sexuality, at different stages, wondering how far/ which way to go ( funnily enough two live in Leigh, where I was last week with them/ I thought of contacting you)....it is part of my job. I'm not trivialising it, and I know that you have not said I am. Nor have I trivialised, race issues, cultural issues, inequalities. It remains true( imho) that the Left have disproportionately been focussing on the wrong issues, a busted flush, if they want any power, perhaps they don't really.
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Post by bigjohnritchie on Sept 20, 2021 13:10:31 GMT
We might be agreeing on something here Prestwich.....in my opinion the utilities ( and possibly internet provision) should be in public ownership.....I get the argument about competition/ efficiency/ power of unions...but it does not/ would not need to be like that if the right model is used. The ' competition' between current providers is ridiculous, when they are basically selling the same thing. Just , and only to, keep you happy.....the so called" Left" ought to be making a lot out of this Labour perhaps instead of looking internally at Conference attendance/ fear to attend/ LGBT+ etc issues, few outside the party are least bit interested. Presumably you were right behind Corbyn then John when he was proposing it ahead of the 2019 election?😉 Unfortunately, He tried to play party politics with the major democratic issue, Brexit, and so let everyone down, especially the working class.
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Post by prestwichpotter on Sept 20, 2021 13:12:16 GMT
There's a lot the Labour Party SHOULD be doing John on that we're in full agreement. I do think we need to be careful in trivialising LGBT issues though (not saying you are by the way) especially the current trans debate, there are estimated to be around 650,000 people in the UK that identify as trans or non-binary (1% of the population) and they are some of the most endangered in terms of being the victims of hate crime....... Yes ,I am currently working with three students, one to one, who are coming to terms with their gender/sexuality, at different stages, wondering how far/ which way to go ( funnily enough two live in Leigh, where I was last week with them/ I thought of contacting you)....it is part of my job. I'm not trivialising it, and I know that you have not said I am. Nor have I trivialised, race issues, cultural issues, inequalities. It remains true( imho) that the Left have disproportionately been focussing on the wrong issues, a busted flush, if they want any power, perhaps they don't really. You should have John, now things are open again be good to meet up. "The left" have nothing to do with the current Labour Party from a leadership perspective that much I do know.......
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Post by Huddysleftfoot on Sept 20, 2021 14:25:30 GMT
Presumably you were right behind Corbyn then John when he was proposing it ahead of the 2019 election?😉 Unfortunately, He tried to play party politics with the major democratic issue, Brexit, and so let everyone down, especially the working class. He was stabbed in the back by the likes of Starmer, John.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2021 14:49:40 GMT
I been with EDF few a few years. Just coming to the end of my Tariff & the replacements are more expensive.
I've plugged my new Tariff into uSwitch and they have said that there is no better Tariff currently available; so I'm happy to renew.
£2,400 per year, the next cheapest was £3,000. It has increased significantly over the past few years, across the industry.
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Post by bigjohnritchie on Sept 20, 2021 15:21:10 GMT
Unfortunately, He tried to play party politics with the major democratic issue, Brexit, and so let everyone down, especially the working class. He was stabbed in the back by the likes of Starmer, John. I think you are exactly right Paul. Perhaps as leader he should have said " back me on this, or I am off".....in my opinion , he would have been correct to do so. In my opinion, if he/the Party had backed Brexit, it would have put Boris and Nigel in a difficult position. At least Jeremy could have pointed to his consistent track record on Brexit.... I don't know if it would have made a difference to the result , because of other issues...we never know, but it might. Even if a voter wanted to believe Starmer, his Brexit policy at that election was ridiculous.....and that's one reason that he will never be trusted now, in my opinion. It is going to take a generation/ or major political event (I still don't think the Virus/ handling of the virus is political) to move on.
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Post by Huddysleftfoot on Sept 20, 2021 15:54:12 GMT
He was stabbed in the back by the likes of Starmer, John. I think you are exactly right Paul. Perhaps as leader he should have said " back me on this, or I am off".....in my opinion , he would have been correct to do so. In my opinion, if he/the Party had backed Brexit, it would have put Boris and Nigel in a difficult position. At least Jeremy could have pointed to his consistent track record on Brexit.... I don't know if it would have made a difference to the result , because of other issues...we never know, but it might. Even if a voter wanted to believe Starmer, his Brexit policy at that election was ridiculous.....and that's one reason that he will never be trusted now, in my opinion. It is going to take a generation/ or major political event (I still don't think the Virus/ handling of the virus is political) to move on. Starmer will never be PM for precisely that reason.
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Post by Gob Bluth on Sept 20, 2021 16:00:47 GMT
My contract with SSE was up in November but I've logged on and they've offered a new tariff which is just 10£ so I've grabbed it while it's on offer.
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Post by teenagefanclub on Sept 20, 2021 16:16:11 GMT
On a fixed tariff until December £107 a month (for gas and electric combined) just rang them up to see if they have any other fixed tariffs and it works out at £195 per month!
Down to the increase in gas prices.
Bloke said they've had hundreds of people trying to change plans today.
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Post by lordherefordsknob on Sept 20, 2021 16:17:39 GMT
I been with EDF few a few years. Just coming to the end of my Tariff & the replacements are more expensive. I've plugged my new Tariff into uSwitch and they have said that there is no better Tariff currently available; so I'm happy to renew. £2,400 per year, the next cheapest was £3,000. It has increased significantly over the past few years, across the industry. £2,400 A YEAR, are you running a Cannabis farm?
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Post by lancashirelad on Sept 20, 2021 16:26:44 GMT
Over the years i have changed supplier regularly but my latest is one the ones to go bust just awaiting OFGEN appointed EDF to get in touch.
At weekend got several quotes and i knew in advance about prices rising rapidly to get an idea on what to expect - the lowest quote was a 50% increase and the general quotes 80- 100% increase on what was my present contract.
In the media the prediction is there may only be 10 providers by the end of the year down from 70 at the start of the year.
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Post by superjw on Sept 20, 2021 16:32:46 GMT
My fixed term doesn't come up until about Feb 2022 but decided to have a look and the cheapest deal available is about 40% more expensive than I pay now.
I've heard there is some kind of mass panic to start switching to new deals, but in my mind that's a bit of a false economy surely? If you sign up to these prices for 2 /3 years but if the wholesale price falls, the companies certainly won't pass those savings on to the consumer mid contract.
It's a scandalous situation we find ourselves in and for part, one of our (government) own making.
This, for a big part of what's going on, is the price of "going green" and trying to rely too much on poor renewables technology and offshoring energy supplies to give the impression we are reducing carbon. We aren't self sufficient enough
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Post by superjw on Sept 20, 2021 16:39:57 GMT
On a fixed tariff until December £107 a month (for gas and electric combined) just rang them up to see if they have any other fixed tariffs and it works out at £195 per month! Down to the increase in gas prices. Bloke said they've had hundreds of people trying to change plans today. That will drive prices up even further no doubt
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Post by Rednwhitenblue on Sept 20, 2021 17:16:51 GMT
My fixed term doesn't come up until about Feb 2022 but decided to have a look and the cheapest deal available is about 40% more expensive than I pay now. I've heard there is some kind of mass panic to start switching to new deals, but in my mind that's a bit of a false economy surely? If you sign up to these prices for 2 /3 years but if the wholesale price falls, the companies certainly won't pass those savings on to the consumer mid contract. It's a scandalous situation we find ourselves in and for part, one of our (government) own making. This, for a big part of what's going on, is the price of "going green" and trying to rely too much on poor renewables technology and offshoring energy supplies to give the impression we are reducing carbon. We aren't self sufficient enough That's the gamble you take with all fixed rate products, mortgages, energy suppliers etc. If you had any inkling that this was coming being on a fixed rate deal would be a good thing at present. Conversely, there were loads of people who took out fixed rate mortgages just before the interest rate fell to 0.5% and the variable mortgage rates followed who got shafted. Swings and roundabouts. Makes the argument for the UK being self-sufficient in green energy even more convincing.
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Post by Seymour Beaver on Sept 20, 2021 18:33:00 GMT
My fixed term doesn't come up until about Feb 2022 but decided to have a look and the cheapest deal available is about 40% more expensive than I pay now. I've heard there is some kind of mass panic to start switching to new deals, but in my mind that's a bit of a false economy surely? If you sign up to these prices for 2 /3 years but if the wholesale price falls, the companies certainly won't pass those savings on to the consumer mid contract. It's a scandalous situation we find ourselves in and for part, one of our (government) own making. This, for a big part of what's going on, is the price of "going green" and trying to rely too much on poor renewables technology and offshoring energy supplies to give the impression we are reducing carbon. We aren't self sufficient enough It's not the price of 'going green' per se it is the price of not having had pnational energy policy to speak of for the past 25 years - we've kicked the can down the road for far too long and are now reliant in a generating infrastructure that's barely fit for purpose. Your point about switching now - arguements for and against - if you're on a fixed deal with a few months to run and your provider is well financed you're probably best sitting it out. If you think they're likely to go bust there may be a case to jump before you're pushed. You're right they 'wont pass the savings on' (though depending on how they're hedged there may not be savings - but that's another subject) but many fixed contracts are actually cancellable early - some with penalties some without -(maximum about £30) - so worth checking the small print as paying the get out may be worth it further down the line.
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